The author is a Forbes contributor. The opinions expressed are those of the writer.

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Just when I started to gloat that I’d managed to reduce the number of unsolicited catalogues in my mailbox, this happened: I started receiving magazines I’d never ordered.

Maybe you have, too.

In my case, it turns out the magazines were a “gift” from the online shoe retailer Shoebuy.com, which wanted to “reward” me for using its site. The magazines — Prevention and Fitness — had nothing to do with what I bought, which is probably why I had no idea that by checking out, I was also checking in to get periodicals I had no desire to read.

Online Shoppers Are Complaining

At least I was lucky in one way. These yearlong subscriptions didn’t cost me a penny. In recent years, however, the Better Business Bureau (BBB) has received numerous complaints from other online shoppers who were inadvertently signed up for magazines. Many of them were charged for subscriptions but didn’t discover this until reviewing their credit card bills.

Even though I haven’t been paying for these magazines, I’ve been annoyed every time they arrive. I have enough trouble finding time to read all the magazines I do want to read (keeping up with my New Yorkers alone is almost a full-time job). And I don’t want to heap even more unnecessary paper into the recycling pile.

Suspicious consumer reporter that I am, I had to wonder if my freebies were part of a giant numbers game enabling magazines to claim me as a subscriber, boast a higher circulation and boost the rates they charge advertisers.

Why Unwanted Magazines Arrive

So I decided to find out what was going on, why and how I (and you) can avoid getting unwanted magazines.

Of course, free or low-priced magazine trial offers aren’t new. As Meredith Wagner, executive vice president for MPA, The Association of Magazine Media notes: “It’s a well proven method for publishers to find new readers. And consumers get to sample new magazines and may find one that they enjoy reading that matches their interests well.”

But over past few years, as print magazine circulation has slid, promotions have become particularly aggressive — though perfectly legal, says Katherine Hutt, the BBB’s national spokesperson.

A Consumer Advocate's Mistake

“We’ve seen some fairly assertive sales tactics,” she notes, thanks in large part to the growth of third-party companies that team up with retailers and publications.

Hutt discovered this personally, she admits sheepishly, after signing up for two $2 subscriptions while shopping online. Says Hutt: “I was on a respectable website, just about to finish my order, when there was a pop-up ad, which said that as a ‘thank-you’ for my order, I could buy various magazines for $2 a year. I ordered a couple, not reading all the way through the fine print … which of course BBB always advises consumers to do.”

Had she read the fine print, Hutt would’ve discovered that her initial $2 annual rate would climb to the regular subscription rate — $39 — when renewal time came around and her credit card would be automatically charged.